Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Scientists Plan Huge European AI Hub to Compete with U.S.
April 24th, 2018Via: Guardian: Leading scientists have drawn up plans for a vast multinational European institute devoted to world-class artificial intelligence (AI) research in a desperate bid to nurture and retain top talent in Europe. The new institute would be set up for similar reasons as Cern, the particle physics lab near Geneva, which was created after […]
Amazon Designing Some Sort of Home Robot
April 23rd, 2018Via: Bloomberg: Ten years ago, Amazon introduced the Kindle and established the appeal of reading on a digital device. Four years ago, Jeff Bezos and company rolled out the Echo, prompting millions of people to start talking to a computer. Now Amazon.com Inc. is working on another big bet: robots for the home. The retail […]
Bill Gates Backs Space Based Video Surveillance System for Entire Planet
April 20th, 2018Via: TechCrunch: A new space imaging startup called EarthNow aims to provide not just pictures of the planet on demand, but real-time video anywhere a client desires. Its ambition is matched only by its pedigree: Bill Gates, Intellectual Ventures, Airbus, SoftBank and OneWeb founder Greg Wyler are all backing the play. Its promise is a […]
Palantir Using War on Terror Tools to Track American Citizens
April 19th, 2018Via: Bloomberg: The LAPD uses Palantir’s Gotham product for Operation Laser, a program to identify and deter people likely to commit crimes. Information from rap sheets, parole reports, police interviews, and other sources is fed into the system to generate a list of people the department defines as chronic offenders, says Craig Uchida, whose consulting […]
These Ex-Spies Are Harvesting Facebook Photos For A Massive Facial Recognition Database
April 17th, 2018Via: Fortune: When Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica revelations, he tried to describe the difference between “surveillance and what we do.” “The difference is extremely clear,” a nervous-looking Zuckerberg said. “On Facebook, you have control over your information… the information we […]
Tesla Battery Degradation Less Than 10% After 160,000 Miles
April 15th, 2018Via: Electrek: Battery degradation is one of the biggest concerns for electric car owners and potential buyers, but data from Tesla battery packs have been very reassuring so far. Now the latest data shows less than 10% degradation of the energy capacity after over 160,000 miles on Tesla’s battery packs. A group of Tesla owners […]
AI Creates a 3D Model of a Person from Just a Few Seconds of Video
April 14th, 2018Via: Science: Transporting yourself into a video game, body and all, just got easier. Artificial intelligence has been used to create 3D models of people’s bodies for virtual reality avatars, surveillance, visualizing fashion, or movies. But it typically requires special camera equipment to detect depth or to view someone from multiple angles. A new algorithm […]
China Sending Plants, Insects to the Moon
April 13th, 2018Via: Quartz: Almost half a century ago, the first human landed on the moon, marking “a giant leap for mankind.” This year, China is sending seeds of plants and insects there. Seeds of potatoes and arabidopsis—a small flowering plant belonging to the mustard family—along with silkworm cocoons, will hitch a ride with the Chang’e-4 lander […]
Facebook Donated to 46 of 55 Members on Committee That Will Question Zuckerberg
April 10th, 2018Via: USA Today: Members of the House and Senate committees that will question Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about user privacy protection next week are also some of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from Facebook employees directly and the political action committee funded by employees. The congressional panel that got the most Facebook contributions is […]
California: SB-1424 Internet: Social Media: False Information: Strategic Plan
April 9th, 2018Via: Jon Rappoport: This bill would require any person who operates a social media, as defined, Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Web site. The bill would require the plan to include, among other things, a plan to mitigate the […]
